The Melbourne Storm started the 2012 Telstra Premiership with nine consecutive wins and looked untouchable at the top of the competition table for most of the season. But now as we head into Round 20 it’s a very different story for the Storm. Having lost three straight games, they now share top spot with the Bulldogs and are closely followed by the Broncos and Rabbitohs.
With only four points separating the top seven teams on the ladder, our NRL Daily experts, John Gibbs, David Middleton and Bill Baxter, tackle the question of who will win the 2012 minor premiership.
“It's the tightest battle for the minor premiership in 13 years,” says NRL stats guru Middleton. “I still think the Storm can win the minor premiership. They appear to have the most comfortable draw over the final seven rounds but it is very much a lottery.”
“How long can an Origin hangover last?” asks Baxter. “The Storm play four teams outside the eight in the next four rounds. They’ll get their mojo back, and Billy Slater.”
Gibbs completes the trifecta of support for the Storm, agreeing that the combination of a good run home, the benefits of star players returning to the fold and the experience of being there before will guide Melbourne to the J. J. Giltinan Shield for the second year in a row.
We'll also debate a couple of key questions in our ‘Voice of Reason’ segment. Are the referees as bad as they are being made out, or are the coaches just deflecting the blame? And is Adam Reynolds the Rookie of the Year?
We also take a look at the hype surrounding Des Hasler’s return to fortress Brookvale on the back of seven straight Bulldogs wins. Will Manly get the better of the Bulldogs like they did in Round 8?
Get all this and more in tonight's episode of NRL Daily, the only NRL show that's on every night of the week.
Stream it on the NRL.com homepage from 7:00pm tonight, watch it on the official NRL mobile site (Telstra customers only. Action Pack required. Click here for more details) or Telstra T-BOX. You can also watch the best NRL Daily videos on your iPhone with the official NRL iPhone App (Official Pass required. Click here for more details)
